Note: This is a paid announcement from Hospice Alliance — DH
What is hospice? Hospice is not a place, but a philosophy of care for
those with a serious illness and facing end-of-life. It provides symptom
and pain management, emotional support, spiritual care and
bereavement counseling for a patient and his or her family.
The Medicare hospice benefit was designed to bring end-of-life care to
the patient, not the patient to the care. With that in mind, hospice care
is available, where ever a patient calls home – which could be a
traditional home or assisted living or skilled nursing care facility.
The patient-centric approach to hospice recognizes that the mind, body
and spirit are connected and contribute to the overall well-being of the
individual as well as those they love. The goal of hospice is to assist
loved ones in providing care that result in a peaceful, dignified and
comfortable death, because in hospice, we realize that we cannot
change a patient’s diagnosis or prognosis, so the focus of care becomes
on quality of life. Each person defines what quality of life means to
them and the hospice care team works together to achieve the
patient’s goals.
The care team (officially know as the Inter Disciplinary Team) is what
makes hospice care so unique! The team is comprised of the hospice
medical director, the Registered Nurse case manager, the clinical social
worker and chaplain. The group formally meets every two weeks to
discuss the patient’s goals and plan of care – but often discuss the
patient’s condition and ways to assist the patient and family much
more frequently.
Complimentary therapies (such as pet, music, dance and
aromatherapy) and volunteers are also part of a patient’s care team.
Often people ask what makes hospice care so important. It’s the Inter
Disciplinary Team and the expert perspective that each team member
provides in how to achieve a patient’s goals for care.
If someone you love is need hospice care, Hospice Alliance can be there to help! The most wonderful part of how the hospice benefit was designed is that hospice care is available wherever a patient resides. The care is not
meant to replace services for family caregiving already in place, but
rather to add an additional layer of support that is specific to end-of-life
needs.
Additionally, Hospice Alliance offers an 8-bed hospice house. The
hospice house serves a special population of patients that need
additional care when nearing end-of-life. A patient may come to the
Hospice House for a variety of reason such as his or her caregiver also
being elderly and frail, a working spouse, patients who are facing end-
of-life alone or a patient who does not want family to be uncomfortable
because a death occurred in the home.
Hospice Alliance began providing hospice in 1981, when a dedicated
group of citizens founded an organization to support the needs of dying
patients and their families. Our organization was founded before the
Hospice Medicare Benefit, which underscores the mission of our
organization. Through the years, our mission and goals for care remain
unchanged: To meet each person’s needs with dignity and respect,
regardless of ability to pay.
If you or a loved one has a serious illness and facing end-of-life, call
262-652-4400 to learn more about how Hospice Alliance can help.
